


Coming Home

by burmafrd



Category: China Beach
Genre: AU, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:22:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27316213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burmafrd/pseuds/burmafrd
Summary: McMurphy comes home; but not quite like it happened in the show.
Kudos: 1





	Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

> I thought the show made her a little weak; so my McMurphy is a BAMF

Coleen McMurphy was not the 23 year old newly licensed RN she had been when she arrived in Vietnam in early 1967.

A little over 2 years later, March of 1969, everything had changed.

From a fresh 1st LT to Captain; from newbie to jaded vet; losing friends and family had hardened her.

Some are broken by this; some get by with becoming hard and brittle; thus easily shattered.

And some are tempered like steel.

As she stood on the tarmac of Tan Son Nhut Airport, Republic of Vietnam, with her big duffle bag at her feet waiting for the DC-8 to start boarding them, she looked back to the last time she had left Vietnam. Her emergency medical leave to go to her dying father. And all that came with it. In one respect it had been a blessing; she had been able to reconcile with her father at the last minute, almost literally, before his death.

Yet his death had rocked her; and the events of that short leave would always be with her. She had met some people that she still managed to stay in contact with.  
The Sisters, some of the vets at the Veterans Hospital in San Francisco, a couple of others. She was closer to her mother; and her uncle.

This last year had been very hard for her at China Beach. One by one those she cared for and even loved had left, one way or another.

Cherry, most of all. Her death would be with Colleen until the day she died. Boonie; losing that leg. Dodger, slipping away; she had no idea at all at where he was or what he was doing. KC gone; no idea once again where. Lila had retired and married Sarge; gone to start a surplus business somewhere in the US. Frankie and Holly also lost to the vagaries of people scattering after being so close. She had already lost contact with Laurette. She had gotten a letter from Wayloo that indicated she was doing OK. But she had lost contact with so many others.

By the time she had left China Beach she was so very alone.

Colleen’s mission in life was to save people. That had not changed; but now she guarded her heart a lot more. And did not open up to people. She had grown a thick skin to survive; deep inside she wondered just how she would cope with the real world.

She sighed; a Captain was not exactly high rank but it was high enough on this occasion that she had a group of returnees to take care of. The Army in its infinite wisdom decreed that when outside of the US and in a combat area there are no singles. No loners. So when a group were sent back to the states from Vietnam there was a group commander. Very temporary and ends once in CONUS but very real as regards responsibility. In other words a real pain in the ass with no redeeming features.

Now she was Army Nurse Corps and technically a noncombatant (HAH!) but she was the highest rank available. Actually the only officer; and when it came down to it the only other one in the whole group not a private was a corporal from supply. 

There were 4 grunts, 3 supply types, a helicopter crewman, and one other nurse from the Hospital near Binh Hung. She was very young; and luckily that was one of the most secure hospitals outside of Saigon in country. So she had never really faced anything like McMurphy had. She still seemed pretty innocent; Colleen was rather jealous of that but at the same time determined to get Anne back to her family in one piece with no trauma involved. As chance would have it, she was going to end at Kansas City as was Colleen. Her family lived nearby; Colleen’s was in Wichita but they were driving up to meet her.

She got the signal from the Airline Rep and turned to her truly Motley Crew.  
“OK people grab your bags and let’s go. OR do you want to stay in Nam?”

The speed at which they moved showed their view on THAT.

Anne stayed close to the Captain; she had heard about China Beach, the toughest assignment for a nurse in Vietnam. And she could tell that Captain McMurphy had really been there and done that.

Anne had volunteered for Duty in Vietnam; and had regretted it from just about day one. Her idealism and naivete haunted her. From everything she had learned she had had it pretty easy compared to someone like The Captain.

She had been counting the days since the first day she set foot in Vietnam. Now with home getting so close she instinctively knew staying close to THIS survivor was the smart thing to do. Especially as The Captain was going all the way to Kansas City, too.

So she grabbed her duffle and strained to keep up with the fast moving older nurse.

Anne did not realize that Colleen was actually less than a year older than she was.

But then as was well known people aged fast in Vietnam.

Colleen had always been fairly physically strong as a girl and Vietnam had only increased it. So the duffle bag over her shoulder climbing the stairs to the door of the jet was not much of a chore at all.

At the door the Stewardess was waiting.  
“Captain, your party will be in the tail section.”

McMurphy nodded and headed that way. 

The DC-8 was only about half full, which McMurphy understood was about average for a flight to and from Vietnam. She wondered how the airlines made money on these routes; probably the extra they got from the government for all the official passengers made up for the less than full flights.

And her band of buggered filled up the tail section of two rows on both sides.

And as it turned out there was no one for several rows forward of them.

Which suited her just fine.

Once everyone was in their seats McMurphy looked around.  
“OK, people, behave. They usually let us have a little booze but no more than one of those little bottles. I will NOT have any drunks here.”

McMurphy had been drinking more since she got to Vietnam; deep inside she knew it was not healthy. She vowed to cut down once out of the pressure cooker.

She actually felt one of those little bottles would help most of them fall asleep which was the best way considering how long this flight was.

They would stop off at Guam to refuel and then continue to San Francisco where most of the group would scatter; only Colleen and Anne would continue to Kansas City.

The takeoff was quietly celebrated by all of them; deep inside a fear that SOMETHING would happen to keep them from leaving.

Combat vets well know THAT feeling.

Once aloft and seat belt sign off the Stewardess came back to speak to Colleen.  
“I know some of these here are not of age but the Captain said give them one of what ever they want. But said clear it with you first.”

Colleen nodded.  
“Just one bottle; and you are right. Outside of the other nurse here none of them are really old enough. But it will help put them to sleep.”

The stewardess nodded; she was not a newbie to the Vietnam run. 

Colleen looked at Anne beside her.  
“So what do you want to drink.”

Anne’s eyes grew wide and she blushed.  
“Never had anything other than beer and I really did not like it.”

Colleen somehow did not roll her eyes; good god she had been older than this child at about 13. Sighed inwardly and thought for a moment.  
“Ask for some bourbon, it is pretty smooth.”

Colleen of course had a whiskey. And it indeed helped her to relax a little; the bottle was nowhere near big enough to really do that job well.

Meanwhile the back row on both sides had the grunts and the crewman. They had all seen real combat.

“Wow both those nurses are serious babes.”

“The little blonde is cute but the Captain… wow what a body.”

“And tougher than a two dollar steak I bet. Did you see that she has a ribbon that says she has a Bronze Star with V for Valor. They do NOT give them out to nurses without them really earning it.” 

“And a purple heart as well; bet they came together.”

Colleen, always alert anymore, heard that and sighed.   
Yeah, they had she thought. That horrible day with KC when captured by the VietCong and operating on that old man with virtually nothing. Showing up wearing VC pajamas had shook everyone up; there had been a fair amount of searching going on around China Beach. 

Colleen had thought that her operating on what was clearly a high NVA official would get her in big trouble but it turned out to be the exact opposite. She was put in for the Bronze star by Lila and since she had been hit by some shrapnel coming out of the tunnel and getting back to base she also got the Purple Heart.

She knew that once back she would be pressured by higher ups to stay in the Army Nurse Corps. She had decided to go into the reserves but that was all. She had had enough of military hospitals to last her a lifetime. But making that concession might come in handy down the road when applying for jobs. Being in the US Army Nurse Corps Reserves had some cache to it. Normally that would be required anyway but since she had volunteered twice for Vietnam they waived that. So her agreeing to stay in the reserves would look good on her record.

She remembered the female neurosurgeon who had pushed her to become a doctor. Colleen had thought about it. She knew she could do it. And because of her degree as a RN and her experience she could go right into Medical School and actually probably only have to do three years. But she did not want to become a doctor. She was a NURSE.

The relatively new post called Physicians Assistant interested her, though. IT allowed her to do things a RN could not. And she knew deep in her gut that the restrictions that she would face in the civilian hospital system would grate on her. She had done so much beyond what a RN did at China Beach that stepping back was going to be the hardest thing for her.

They mostly dozed or slept until they landed at Guam. They stayed on the plane; it took just over half an hour to refuel.

And once they took off again pretty much everyone conked for the last 8 hours to San Francisco.

Once they landed Colleen looked around at the group.  
“OK, they are going to do a disinfectant on us; it will be nasty. Then we will be heading out of the military area to the civilian area to either take other flights or not. I will warn you; there are a lot of protestors now. They do a fairly decent job of keeping them back but be prepared. They are going to call you Baby Killers and Murderers and all sorts of things.” She paused as they were all a little wide eyed at that; Anne especially.

“So keep your cool; do not let them get to you. It is wrong and a pile of garbage but remember these protestors frankly are not all that smart. They are too stupid to protest the White House and Congress who are responsible for this whole mess. So just follow me through them.”

The disinfectant was nasty; Anne was trembling. Colleen put her arm around her as they left that point.  
“It’s almost over. By the time we get to Kansas City it will be just fine. The hardest part is coming now.”

McMurphy looked around and put her duffle bag on her shoulder.

“OK everyone right behind me; close it up and don’t straggle.”

The three grunts looked at each other. One of them muttered.  
“Damn she sounds just like my Platoon Sergeant.”

The other two nodded. The chopper crewman felt like she was just like his Crew Chief.

And they would definitely follow her now.

Just as she had predicted there were about a dozen protestors shouting exactly what she had warned them about.

The airport cops were pretty good at holding them back but one got through and appeared to be about to spit in McMurphy’s face when her right jab caught him in the nose and he staggered back.

That made the other protestors hesitate and the Airport cops got full control again and McMurphy powered through the crowd. People jumped out of her way as she had fire in her eyes and the group had indeed closed up tight behind her; Anne almost stepping on her heels. 

McMurphy was moving fast; her blood was up and adrenaline flowing. While not a big person she was solid and under a full head of steam got the people out of the gate area and into the rest of the Airport. She stopped when she was sure there were no more of those pricks around.

She turned to the group.

“OK, people, technically this is not true but for all practical purposes you are no longer under military control. Everyone head to where they need to go.” She paused for a moment then grinned.  
“You all did what your country wanted you to do. Never forget that. Good luck.”

And as one they all stood at attention and saluted her. She saluted them back and then followed by Anne headed towards the domestic terminal to wait for their flight to Kansas City.

A reporter had been idly looking around; he was on a sort of punishment because he had lipped off to the News Editor. This was normally a job for a newbie.

He had seen the small military group coming and at first had not thought a thing about it but then he had spotted the Army Nurse, a captain. He knew not many came back at that rank at what appeared to be a pretty young age. Then the way that nurse had punched the protestor and powered her way and her groups way out of it impressed him. And the way the others behind her were following her so tight. So he followed them. And watched them salute her when they did not have to. That kind of respect piqued his interest. He was able to get close enough to see her name tag. McMurphy. And then he saw the ribbons for a Bronze Star with V for Valor and the Purple Heart. Now he was REALLY interested. He of course was up on the war; every reporter worth a damn was. And he knew that there were only a handful of nurses that had ever gotten a V for Valor. And lived to talk about it.

So he followed at a discrete distance. He saw the way she was obviously taking care of the younger nurse. 

Colleen got to the gate area where their flight to Kansas City would leave from. And noted they had two hours before boarding. She looked at Anne.  
“Hungry.”

Anne blinked and slowly nodded. She was still a little shocked at what had happened. Even though McMurphy had warned them the pure hatred and vitriol had stunned her. The fact that one of them was going to spit on McMurphy, a nurse of all people, shook her deeply. That could have been so easily her.

Meanwhile back at the gate the protestor McMurphy had slugged complained to the Cops there.

They looked at him with complete contempt.  
“You got what was coming you piece of shit. You were going to spit on a Nurse, you bastard.” 

The idiot actually looked puzzled at the idea there was a difference. The cops just turned their backs on him and walked away.

There was a small café not too far from the gate and they got something to eat there. And then visited the restroom one at a time; one staying to guard their duffels while the other went.

Colleen felt she could relax, some. Not all the way. She kept alert.

Anne sat next to her and tried to relax as well. She noticed that the Captain was still keeping her eyes open and occasionally checking all around where they were sitting in the gate area. And realized that they were sitting with their backs to the windows; so no one could get behind them. 

While she had never been under enemy fire Anne had noticed that the combat vets she treated and helped were always like that. Always keeping an eye out.

She screwed up her courage.

“Captain?”

Colleen turned to her and smiled slightly.  
“Anne from this point on just call me Colleen. Or McMurphy. Either one works.”

Anne chewed her lip for a moment.  
“Colleen, how did you know what was going to happen back there?”

McMurphy sighed.  
“A year ago I took emergency medical leave because my Father had a heart attack. I was with a reporter friend and what happened back there happened to us; but we were totally unprepared. A sergeant had warned us but we did not believe him. I mean here we were a couple of women; but those protestors did not care. All they see is the uniform. And the newspapers and everyone else have all too often refused to blame the politicians who are the ones that are responsible for sending us. So we end up with the dirty end of the stick.”

Anne thought on this for a bit.  
“Seems so stupid.”

McMurphy was silent for a moment and then sighed again.  
“Most people are not that smart Anne. They take the easy way. And right now the easy way is to blame us.”

To keep the young woman from getting in deeper Colleen then asked her about her family.

That kept things cool and they found before they knew it they were boarding for Kansas City. This time there was no trouble; and Colleen could act just like any other passenger. They were once again lucky to be seated at the rear of the 707 and it was not terribly crowded.

IT was a relatively short flight but by now the jet lag and time zone change had gotten to both of them and they fell asleep.

The Stewardess left them alone.

They were woken up just before landing. Colleen blinked and smiled as she could see the farmland through the window. Anne had the window seat but Colleen was right next to her; and fortunately no one was beside her. 

Anne blinked and looked out the window; seeing the city coming up she smiled widely.

Home. She would never take it for granted again.

They were quite happy to be the last ones out of the plane and headed to the gate through the ramp.

And stopped at they got to the gate.

There were two signs there:

“Welcome home Colleen” “Welcome Home Anne”

McMurphy stopped to hug Anne.  
“Have a good life.” And then gave her a slip of paper.  
“If you need to talk about it, that is my mothers number. She will always know where to get ahold of me.”

Anne, close to tears, hugged her back fiercely. Then turned and was in the arms of her family.

And Colleen was engulfed by the McMurphy hoard.

As they headed to the baggage claim to get her duffel her mother asked her.  
“Who was that captain you hugged.”

“Captain Colleen McMurphy. She was at China Beach; a real combat zone. She was our group commander responsible for getting us home. She really took care of us.” Anne paused and took a deep breath.  
“Mom, what happened at San Francisco was bad.”

And she told them about what had happened.

Her younger brother Sam was just in his first year at college.  
“She actually hit him?”

Anne looked at him hard.  
“So she was supposed to let him spit on her?”

“Are you sure…”

“Sam. Who was there?”

They all blinked at this. Anne had never been so confrontational before going to Vietnam. Her mother and father looked at each other in concern. 

Sam, who had never been all that sharp as regards things like that started to protest and Anne shut him down hard.  
“So have you called any soldiers Baby Killers and Murderers yet?”

Completely stunned he started to sputter about the newspapers.  
“Who was there you idiot?”

Her father tried to intervene.  
“Anne, Sam did not mean…”

“Sam has always been an idiot and nothing has changed.” Anne then turned and headed to the baggage claim, her family stunned. 

They were silent for a while as she got her duffel; her father taking it from her. They got in the family station wagon and headed home.

Anne felt the little slip of paper McMurphy had given her.

She knew now she would indeed talk to her.

Colleen for a few moments just enjoyed the feeling of being mobbed by her family.

Finally she sighed and pried herself away from Brendan. They headed for the baggage claim slowly, taking their time.

Her mom had her by the arm and was clearly not going to let go anytime soon. 

Finally

FINALLY

She felt something like real hope run through her.

The reporter went back to the paper and did some research; his contacts furnished him with the name of the Nurse. It took a few hours, and actually he was surprised they found out this fast.

This nurse was a genuine Hero. Brass plated and iron bound. He sat back and thought and then went to meet with the Deputy News Desk guy. He was the one that usually put out most of the assignments.

“Take a look at this; I was thinking of a piece on the Nurses from Vietnam.”

Half an hour later he got his assignment. First stop the next day would be the Veterans Hospital in San Francisco.

There he ran into a RN named Jan. Who by pure chance was a good friend of that Captain. And he also ran into several vets there who had been there when McMurphy had come through on medical leave from Vietnam due to her fathers heart attack. 

He got an earful from her and the vets about McMurphy.

He was beginning to think he might have stumbled on one hell of an untold story. The nurses alone were compelling; but McMurphy’s was riveting.

He spent the whole day talking to the vets and all the nurses that would talk to him; some treated him like scum beneath their feet and he understood why.

The brutal truth was that the media and everyone else were more into blaming the soldiers than the politicians that sent them.

Probably because the soldiers were pretty much everywhere and thus easy targets.

While it would take more time and effort to target the National Politicians that were in the end responsible for the whole thing.

He thought on that; and made a note. Another story he wanted to do.

Since this would be a fairly lengthy assignment it had to be approved by the News Desk head.

“Rivers, I don’t like you and you don’t like me. That said, this is an excellent idea. Take a couple more days and flesh it out.”

“Trying to figure how to go about it. That Captain is a really fascinating story; but I found a couple at the Vet hospital that were pretty interesting as well. I would love to interview McMurphy but somehow I doubt it would go well.”

The Head smirked.  
“You go and try and interview her you better wear a hockey mask” Then thought for a moment.  
“And a cup as well.” 

Colleen slept late the next day; she had a couple of days before an interview with the local hospital.

She got up and looked around her old room. It had not seemed to really register with her the last time she had been here but now looking around hard she was a little embarrassed about how juvenile it looked. She got a garbage bag and began to fill it.

Her mother came in; she expected Colleen to sleep late so it was no surprise to find her still in her sleep shirt but it was a surprise to see her filling a garbage bag with her things.

“Colleen, what are you doing?”

“Getting rid of stuff that should have been gone a while ago.”

Her mother was quiet as she saw her daughter throw away basically everything that had been in her room for many years. Nick Naks, pictures, etc. By the time she was done the room was very bare.

Rose Amanda O’Reilly McMurphy had been too devastated by the events of Colleen’s last trip home to really think about her daughter. Now with a year to get over losing her husband she now took a good look at her daughter.

Outwardly there was not a lot of change; she did thing Colleen was a little broader over the shoulders, a little more solid. Her demeanor was the real change. She was now a lot quieter; brusque where before she had been trying to be polite. Overall, it was clear she had nowhere near as much patience with things she did not like as she had had before. 

She hoped Colleen was not following in her fathers footsteps and turning to alcohol to cope with life.

She had been a traditional Irish wife all her married life. And that meant putting up with a husband that drank. All the terrible things that came with it, too.

She did not want her daughter going down that same road. Already there were too many signs her brothers were. 

She really did not want to know the details on what had happened to Colleen to cause these changes; but knew it was her duty as the mother to find out so that she could understand as much as she could.

“Colleen are you sure of this?”

She stopped and looked at Rose.  
“It is time, Mom.”

Her mien was calm but a little sad.

Rose just silently nodded.

She turned and headed to the kitchen to make breakfast for her daughter, home from the war.

She mused on that. She had been terrified that her sons would go to war and instead it was her daughter that went. Pure luck; all three of her sons had drawn high numbers in the draft lottery. She remembered her husband, one day after Colleen had left for Vietnam, softly crying.  
“3 sons and I send my daughter to war.”

Well Colleen was home. That was all that mattered.

Colleen ate a good breakfast if not as much as Rose had hoped. She seemed quiet. Not sure how to go about talking to her daughter Rose kept it simple.  
“Need to go do some clothes shopping.”

Colleen nodded.  
“Luckily it is pretty simple as regards being a nurse. Just another uniform.”

“I mean regular clothes.”

Colleen shrugged.  
“No hurry.”

She took a deep breath.  
“Will your old clothes fit?”

Colleen blinked at that. And thought about it.  
“Probably ought to try on everything and make sure.”

It turned out not much did; her legs and shoulders were thicker.  
“Well at least it’s not my butt or gut.”

Rose saw bits and pieces of the daughter she had raised as they went out shopping. But at the same time, she noted the differences. A lot less vocal; and the watchfulness. That got to her most. Colleen was always looking around; clearly not wanting to be surprised by anything. She screwed up her courage.

“Colleen, you are home. You don’t have to be so alert.”

Colleen stopped for a moment. Then slowly nodded.  
“I know Mom, but two years straight of doing it is a hard habit to break.”

Just after they got back to the house a phone call came in. It was for Colleen.

She took the phone and listened for a moment.  
“I can come over today. 3PM OK?”

She hung up.  
“The hospital wants to see me right away. I think they might be desperate for nurses.”

“You are going to wear your uniform?”

“My Class A dress uniform. That is the one I shipped here a few months ago.”

Rose nodded and went to Colleen’s closet and reached far into it and pulled out the plastic bag holding it.  
“I had it cleaned, just in case.”

Colleen nodded.  
“Good.”

Colleen walked into St. Francis Hospital; she had been trained there before going into the Army. The army had then given her 3 months of training that she always thought of as a waste of time.

She knew it well; after all she had spent two and a half years there going from a newbie that knew nothing to a freshly certified RN when she left.

She ignored the looks she got; her Class A dress uniform looked pretty good; and she knew all the fruit salad was impressive as well. She wondered what they would have thought if she had sprung for the money to get a Mess Dress Uniform.  
Complete with sword. THAT always amused her; a Nurse with a Sword.

She knew exactly where to go; the Nursing Director. Who was new she had heard; the last one had retired only a few months earlier.

Rebecca Pemberton looked up as the woman she had been waiting for came into her office. She took a good look.

Wearing Class A Army uniform; and for a nurse an impressive number of ribbons. Captain Colleen McMurphy was one of the most decorated Army Nurses of the war. A very impressive record. Rebecca really wanted her there at St. Francis; both because of her ability and also as an example of what a Nurse can be.

Rebecca had never before met a nurse who had been in a war zone; and really did not know what to expect from one that had served two tours.

McMurphy came in and looked at her.

“Mrs Pemberton.”

“Captain McMurphy. Please sit down.”

Colleen did and put on her mask.

She already knows how to wear the mask; inwardly Rebecca sighs. She is only 25. 

“I want to make it clear that we at St. Francis are incredibly proud of what you have accomplished. And very badly want you back here as a Senior RN. For myself I want you for two reasons: your ability as a Nurse and as an example of what kind of Nurses we want here; both as part of the hospital and graduates of our nursing school.”

Colleen was not surprised at all; this was exactly what she had expected. But she knew damn well that they wanted her more for being a recruitment poster than actually being a nurse. Well she had the clout, time to use it.

“I want to become a Physicians Assistant; so that is my primary goal. But I want to also become the Chief RN for the Emergency room as well.”

Rebecca blinked. Sat back and thought on this. She was surprised; the PA program was gaining momentum in the bigger cities but had yet to really make an impact otherwise. They did have a program here; but few applicants so far. This might really help that. She nodded.  
“That is fine with me. WE have not had many applicants for the PA program yet; you wanting in will help us rev it up.” She paused for a moment.  
“Frankly you were going to Emergency anyway. And pretty much you will be head Nurse on your shift. You can choose which one.”

Colleen raised her eyebrow at this.  
“I am kind of young for that.”

Rebecca smiled slightly.  
“Two years at China Beach means you know more about emergency medicine than any nurse we currently have.”

Colleen felt honesty would be good here at the moment. She had already gotten; and could see she would get what else she wanted.  
“Things like automobile accidents I am not exactly experienced in. Did not have much of that in Vietnam.” She paused for a moment. “We did have a few jeep and truck accident victims.”

“That is plenty. Wichita is not too bad as regards violent crime, but a fair amount of it shows up here.”

Colleen nodded.  
“I would prefer 2nd shift.”

Rebecca smiled again.  
“I had hoped so. That is of course the toughest one.”

Colleen allowed herself a small smile.  
“I rather pride myself in always doing things the hard way.”

Rebecca nodded.  
“We are short of nurses; so when can you start?”

“Need to get my nurses uniform; can do that tomorrow. So how about second shift tomorrow.”

“That is fine.”

Colleen now decided it was time to probe a little.  
“Why would a hospital with a nursing school be short of nurses?”

Rebecca sighed.  
“In a word, pay. St. Francis is behind the times there.” 

Colleen took a deep breath as she walked through the doors of St. Francis at ten minutes to four that next afternoon in her brand new nurse costume. She headed right to Emergency.

She walked in; at the moment since it was a Wednesday it was quiet. She went to the nursing counter.  
“Colleen McMurphy.”

The young nurse looked up and her eyes got very big.  
“Nurse McMurphy. We were told you would be here. Dr. Johnson wanted to see you as soon as you arrived.”

She was glad to see that Dr. Johnson was not a kid or a old man either. Probably about 40. Looked OK. We will see.

“Dr. Johnson. Colleen McMurphy.”

He looked up from some notes.  
“Ah, good. Glad you got her a little early. Thankfully a Wednesday is usually pretty quiet. Good time to start out. I am very glad you are here; our nurses are frankly very young and inexperienced. Having a Vietnam two tour nurse on the second shift is frankly a god send.”

“Mrs Pemberton gave me the reason why its hard to hold onto experienced nurses here.”

He shook his head in disgust.  
“The Doctors pay is not all that but the nurses pay is a disgrace. I understand you intend to go for Physicians’ Assistant. May I ask why not go all the way and become a doctor?”

Colleen sighed.  
“I am a nurse. PA is as far as I will go. Doctors have to stand back way too much for me to deal with.”

Slowly he nodded.  
“Damn glad you are here. Now I can show you the Emergency facility; it got remodeled last year so it will not be as you remember it from your training here.” 

Her first shift was pretty boring; not much happened at all. A couple of automobile accidents. One minor and one DOA. A few other things, none of them serious. She was appalled at how young and inexperienced the other nurses were. Pretty much all recent graduates of the PN program. She was the only RN on duty. She had been told two more would be there for Friday and Saturday shifts. But she was head; despite the fact that they would be older and have more experience. She had a feeling some resentment would be felt from that quarter. Well too bad.

Anne sighed. She looked at the phone. The tension with Sam had not gotten any better, the fall term at university would be starting soon and she would just be glad when he was gone.

She felt the need to talk to Colleen. So far, she was having trouble fitting back into the nice neat little slot that her parents had been saving for her. She could tell they were not sure how to deal with an Anne that had grown up.

Finally she picked up the phone. It was 11AM.

“This is Anne. I would like to talk to Colleen.”

“Anne. How are you fitting in?”

Anne sighed.  
“It is harder than what I thought it would be.”

“That is to be expected. You have experience now that they cannot really comprehend; and you are different. They will need time to come to terms with that.”

Anne began to relax. Just talking to the Captain helped.

Rose watched Colleen talk to what had to be that other young nurse who came home with her. Now this was a Colleen fully engaged; decisive and tough. Yet with a gentleness she rarely had seen from her since she had grown up.

She had been coasting here so far, Rose realized. 

“Not sure which hospital to choose. There are 4, though really only three for me since the last one is private and catholic.”

“Anne, you are still young and relatively inexperienced. So you have two ways to go about it. Small hospital and not a lot of pressure but you will need twice as long to get the same experience you would get in a bigger hospital.”

Anne sat there and slowly nodded.  
“I see what you are talking about.”

“First off what do you want?”

“TO be the best nurse I can be.”

“OK. You will get that faster at the bigger hospital.”

Anne slowly nodded.  
“I understand.”

“Other than that, any problems?”

“Just my stupid younger brother Sam. Freshman at the University and already things he is so much smarter than the rest of us.”

“Let me guess, protesting the War as well.”

“Yeah. Idiot does not know diddly squat and doesn’t know it.”

“My advice is give him the cold shoulder until he shapes up.”

“That is already what I am doing; going to ignore the dweeb.” 

Her mother listened to Anne’s end of the call and winced. She really did not know what to do about Sam. He was acting like an idiot as Anne had said. What worried her was Anne’s attitude towards him; and that it might not change. A permanent split between two siblings that had always gotten along pretty well.

And she knew she was floundering as regards how to treat Anne. In her head she understood her baby had grown up and was now an adult. Her heart said otherwise. And then there was what she had gone through in Vietnam. She did not want to talk about it but only said she did not have it very bad.

She had an idea. She noted the number that Anne had left beside the phone.

“Mrs. McMurphy, this is Deborah Wilson. Anne is my daughter; she has been talking to Colleen.”

Rose put down the phone and took a deep breath. Time to practice what she had just preached to Deborah. Talk to her daughter about her time over there and what she wants to do with her life.

Deborah found Anne staring out the window; took a deep breath.

“Anne. Honey, I know you are having a bit of a hard  
Time adjusting to being back home. Please talk to me.”

Rose McMurphy looked at her daughter.  
‘Time to practice what I just preached.’

“Colleen, could you please talk to me. How you feel, what you want to do, just talk to me.”


End file.
